The Green Party condemns the passing of the Regulatory Standards Bill at first reading and is clear that the fight is not over.

“The Regulatory Standards Bill is another attack on te Tiriti o Waitangi. The Prime Minister has again failed to show up for our founding document," says Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson.

“Te Tiriti o Waitangi promises protection for people and planet. We’ve seen hundreds of thousands of people show up in support of te Tiriti o Waitangi, so we know our communities will not stand for this.

“This Bill is the same tired politics we have seen time and time again from the Government, attacking Te Tiriti o Waitangi to make it easier for wealthy companies to exploit our whānau and our taiao for profit.

“For a Bill that claims to attempt to embed ‘good law-making’, the Bill has already breached te Tiriti o Waitangi in its policy development, and has completely ignored the significant opposition and feedback provided in over 22,000 submissions.

“Budget 2025 has failed Māori and shows the Coalition Government’s sustained disregard for its Tiriti o Waitangi obligations. With the passage of the Regulatory Standards Bill, this Government has cemented its active role in the culture war, in spite of the document that allowed its very existence.

“Governments come and go. Politicians come and go. Te Tiriti o Waitangi is foundational and enduring. Honouring te Tiriti o Waitangi is the constitutional obligation of every Prime Minister – something Christopher Luxon must show leadership by scrapping the Regulatory Standards Bill.

“Whatungarongaro te tangata, toitū te whenua. Whatungarongaro te Kāwanatanga, toitū te Tiriti o Waitangi. People disappear, while the land remains. While Governments come and go, te Tiriti o Waitangi is forever,” says Marama Davidson.

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